Dancing that fine snarky line.

So tonight I got an e-mail from a self-professed "thought leader", you know, one of those "professional bloggers". This is someone who was in some way-shape-or-form upset by a post I made in response to a post on their blog. Not a comment on their blog mind you, a post in a totally different space on the Internet. It is always fun when random personalities on the Internet collide, kinda like a really no-hold-barred Brownian Motion. One of the nice things about being human is you get to deal with all kinds of people, people with very different values than your own.

My post was mildly snark and mildly serious, and pointed out the very subtly snarky nature of this contractor's critique of certain academic web sites. Apparently my meta-snarkiness was not well received.

While people are learning whole new ways to be ashamed of their fellow man on the Internet, WRAL.com "user comments" (or any just about any "news" site's comments for that matter) being a prime example, I am finding new way to appreciate and celebrate the diversity of our species. My primarily medium is snarkyness.

Van Gogh had oils, Michelangelo had stone, I've got snark. One day I hope to hone it down to a fine point, the mightiness of which the pen nor the sword has ever known. From the early days as a Monkey Island playing tween, the application of wit to social interaction has fascinated me. I think I still have a long way to go. The Internet is a crude medium still.

Snark and anonymity do not go hand in hand. If you have no credentials, best not to waste your breath. That having been said, snark is a lot a lot like lighter fluid. You'd better know what you're doing. Practicing under the veil of anonymity is probably best. When the time is right, like any artist, you need a proper Coming Out.

I am just finally at the point that I think I'm ready for my coming out. I've long stated that one of my career goals is to become a quirky campus personality. I consider my participation in a formal diversity training program to be my "finishing school". This isn't South Park. Snark as a career has to be brandished like the Bushido blade. If you fuck up, it's seppuku for you! I think snark has been used for enough evil on the Internet and in popular culture. Time for it to be used for some good.

Through grinding on a few of these "professional bloggers", the kind that like to use track-back like it is some sort of lame weapon of shame, I've gained a couple of levels in Snark Knight. It makes a particularly brutal combo with WHM sub-class. A few more levels won't hurt though...